Articles

PangeaSeed, a Japan-based nonprofit organization, is ramping up its inaugural activities in Tokyo this summer with events tailored to spotlight the organization’s dedication to increasing awareness of the plight of sharks.

Of the 400 shark species, more than 100 are endangered, with many species so over-exploited, it may be impossible for them to recover. The events will showcase the issues surrounding shark finning in Asia and other parts of the world, where sharks are killed to satisfy culinary and medicinal demand. In finning, it is common to cut the fin from a still-living shark, then discard the rest, as the fin is worth many times over the shark as a whole.

PangeaSeed will host a booth at the 2009 Fuji Rock Festival’s NGO Village on July 24 - 26, 2009, and will host its own event called “No Fin, No Future” on July 30, 2009 at Super Deluxe in Nishi Azabu. Among the many highlights of the event, guests will enjoy a screening of the international award-winning documentary, “Sharkwater.” Some of Wetpixel editor Eric Cheng’s shark photography will also be on display.

Aquatica has announced a new housing in their HD Wave series for the popular Canon HF-S10 camcorder. This all aluminum housing features manual and electronic control, and uses the camcorder’s own LCD monitor as a viewfinder. The 7.5lbs(3.2kg) housing has full menu access view buttons which actuate the control dial on the monitor of the camcorder. 3 lens options include a partial zoom 85° wide angle port, a 65° full zoom standard dome port and a flat macro port. Pricing and availability is to be announced at the moment. Click on the discussion link to find out more…

Earth Touch’s Barry Skinstad narrates his encounter in a baitball on June 30 where he finds all the major predators, sharks, dolphins, gannets and whales hitting one baitball. The video shows the distinct hunting technique of each predator species and seemingly unreal order in feeding frenzy whereby the only prey consumed are sardines. In the mad frenzy, it seemed the predators knew when to move out of the way of each other, except for one very unfortunate shark .... join the discussion and click on the link for the video to find out what happened!

The topic of license fees pops up occasionally as more shooters win awards and are offered what seems to be low fees for rights to the works. This discussion now features online video content host Underwater Channel’s offer to one member. Join the discussion as professionals and amateurs alike discuss compensation and how to view this growing media outlet and it’s effects on traditional views, juxtaposed against the burgeoning tsunami of content available online as equipment allows more people to publish their works. What is your view on this matter?

Just released: DiveFilm HD Podcast episode 31, which is a cool short film shot by Backscatter’s Jim Decker and Russ Sanoian on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR.

Mary Lynn Price says, “I am just so impressed by the HD footage possible with this DSLR, I’m fighting hard not to take the leap to this cam! Really love what I’m seeing both uw and topside with this cam…”

This podcast video has been converted in Final Cut Pro to ProResHQ, edited, then compressed using Compressor to AppleTV spec for the HD podcast. The original footage is Canon’s variant of long-GOP H.264 1920x1080 30p at 40 Mbits/sec. The encoded podcast is H.264 1280x720 24p at 5 Mbits/sec. Compressed file size is 93 MB.

The Underwater Images photography competition has just announced its 2009 winners. Congratulations to Wetpixel member Keri Wilk (SlipperyDick) for winning Best of Show, and to all the other winners! Many of the winners are Wetpixel members, and because the competition website doesn’t have a gallery of images, members have started posting their winning images in the Wetpixel forum.

We’ve just had a cancellation and are looking for 1-3 more photographers to join us in the Ogasawara Islands in Japan this coming October, 2009 to photograph sperm whales. We leave Tokyo by ferry on October 8, and return on the 20th. Sperm whales are the largest carnivores on the planet, and can be inquisitive, allowing photographers to approach very closely.

Our friends over at Underwater Photography magazine have just released UwP49, a 76-page downloadable PDF. UwP49 includes reviews of the Aquatica, Epoque, Sea & Sea, and Fuji housings as well as destination pieces and articles on technique by Alex Mustard, Jeff Hartog, Mark Webster, and others.